Professional Poker Tour

The day most longtime poker players have waited for has finally arrived. It's players getting to play in big-time poker tournaments with guaranteed prize pools – without having to put up a buy-in. Let's hear it for the Professional Poker Tour (PPT)!

WPT Enterprises Inc. is the creator of the PPT. It has put together five events in its inaugural season. Each will have a prize pool of $500,000! Approximately 200 elite players have been invited to join the PPT in its first season. (You don't have to be a professional to play on the PPT.) In future years, players will qualify for the PPT by way of set guidelines. They will earn their positions on the PPT based strictly on performance – and that's the way it should be.

Invited players were granted one-, two-, or three-year exemptions. Here is how players earned their respective exemptions and the opportunity to play this season on the $2.5 million PPT:

• All World Poker Tour (WPT) champions

• Anyone who made more than one final table in a particular season on the WPT

• First, second, or third place in the 25K WPT championship event

• Top 10 players on the WPT Player of the Year list

• All winners of the World Series of Poker 10K championship event

• First-, second-, or third-place finish in the 2003 or 2004 WSOP 10K event

• Top 10 players in the Card Player Player of the Year standings (2002, 2003)

• Top 10 players in Phil Hellmuth's Champion of the Year standings (2002, 2003)

• Members of the Poker Hall of Fame and the WPT Poker Walk of Fame

• Fourth-, fifth-, or sixth-place finish in the 25K WPT championship event

• Fourth-, fifth-, or sixth-place finish in the 10K WSOP championship event (2003, 2004)

• Players selected by the advisory committee

• Top 10 players in the European player standings

• World Poker Tour commentators (I'm back in action!)

• Eight for the host casino

• 10 for WPT Enterprises

What's really exciting is that WPT Enterprises is looking to bring meaningful sponsorship to the game – for players and the league alike. Players may wear sponsorship logos that comply with the rules of the PPT. This is fantastic for players, as it will provide them an opportunity to make even more money. Players will not be restricted from playing in any other poker events.

WPT Enterprises will be taping PPT events for television (and is having discussions with potential broadcast partners). The inaugural PPT event kicked off on Nov. 9 at Foxwoods Resort Casino (Connecticut). The next event will take place at Commerce Casino (Los Angeles – February), and three more events will follow that one. The public is invited to come out and watch the "all-stars of poker" play in these PPT events.

Finally, there are tournaments with large prize pools in which poker players don't have to put up their own money. Congratulations to those who were invited to play this season, and best of luck to everyone in qualifying for the PPT.

On behalf of poker players everywhere, let me say "thank you" to WPT Enterprises for creating the Professional Poker Tour. Take care.

Mike Sexton is the host of PartyPoker.com and a commentator on the World Poker Tour (which can be seen every Wednesday on the Travel Channel).